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Oklahoman killed in Denver's 104-car pileup had retired to travel

A few of the 104 vehicles involved in Saturday's pileup in the northbound lanes of Interstate 25. (Kathryn Sco tt Osler, The Denver Post)

Rebecca Newkirk loved to travel with her husband, Charles, especially since she retired at 61 years old last May. She loved Colorado's mountains, and she loved camping near the big lakes in Arkansas, her husband said.

Tuesday afternoon Charles Newkirk was preparing to take his wife's body home to Stillwater, Okla., from Denver for a funeral next Monday.

Rebecca Newkirk was the lone fatality in the 104-car pileup on Interstate 25 in a fast-moving snowstorm that left roads slick and caused brief white-out conditions. .

The couple were in Colorado to visit friends, and Charles Newkirk was at the wheel when their vehicle was hit from behind.

"She was a God-loving woman," her husband said Tuesday afternoon, soon after the Denver Medical Examiner's Office released his wife's name .

She is survived by five children, 16 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

"People will remember how nice she was, and how much she loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren," Charles Newkirk said.

The Newkirks, originally from Indiana, were married 32 years ago. They both worked at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater for awhile, then his wife moved on to work at a nearby vocational and technical school until she retired, Charles Newkirk said.

Three were admitted in serious condition to Denver Health Medical Center, but their conditions were not immediately available Tuesday afternoon.

Denver police are expected to issue a report on the pileup at] the end of the week or early next week on the investigation into clusters of crashes that occurred over a 1.5-mile stretch of the northbound lanes between Logan Street and University Boulevard. The pileup happened at about 11 a.m. and closed the interstate for five hours.

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